Jad A.
Yelp
Café O'Mai is a new favourite, after having lunch there. I can not believe that I never went here whilst living in the inner city south of Brisbane for a few years. That's what you get for procrastinating. I now understand why it has a huge following and is popular amongst locals as well as people like myself who will venture out for something great. Google Café O'Mai and you will see that it is one of the most highly ranked/reviewed places to eat anywhere in Brisbane. Vietnamese cuisine at its best, even though its only open for Breakfast and Lunch.
All my high expectations were met. Great Service, (despite it being really busy), awesome value for money (prices average $10 or less, and nothing over $22), and delicious food all round.
Having anticipated that this popular Annerley cafe would be busy, I was sure glad I booked ahead, especially since there was a group of us. So here's a tip. Definitely book ahead if there are several of you, as you will never get a table, with how busy they are. That's what makes this little place great too; the fact that they actually take reservations, when it's not necessary for them, considering their level of patronage.
I'm not sure if I could have still ordered breakfast, but everything on the menu (Lunch & Breakfast) sounds amazing. I dare you not to salivate as you peruse the menu, which, if you were starving like I was, is gastronomic poetry on paper. I went with the Banh Mi baguette "filled with home made chicken pate, whole egg mayo, picked carrot and radish, slice of cucumber, sprig of coriander, and drizzle of soy sauce" as a "House made crackling pork". I also ordered a serve of chicken spring rolls, just to get me started.
When the baguette arrived, it was perfectly fresh, crusty on the outside and soft inside. I loved the great combination of textures of soft and crunchiness, the crackling hitting the spot. The chicken spring rolls, well, I inhaled that in a few seconds. Perfect.We are usually a loud bunch, when we get together as a group, but on this occasion, Café O-Mai, silenced us by sheer deliciousness. We all agreed that it was a great spot, and I felt chuffed having picked it! We can't wait to try this place for breakfast. There's a non-traditional breakfast of Pork meatballs in rich tomato sauce with quail eggs served with warm baguette - the Vietnamese equivalent of savoury mince - with name on it!